58. 



THE AMERICAN Bl^K JOURKAL. 



lication ; and believing tliat nothing would 

 conduce so materially to that desired success, 

 as an increase in the subscription list, I forward 

 a small one. 



There are quite a number of bee-keepers in 

 this neitrhborhood, and a rapidly growing inter- 

 est in the management of bees; and believing, 

 as I do, that the Bee Joubnal is just what 

 they want to excite that interest, and give them 

 the information necessary for the successful 

 management of bees, I see no reason why the 

 Journal may not have a reasonable support 

 from this jiart of Illinois, I shall endeavor to 

 obtain it. D. C. Hunt. 



Hamilton, (III.,) August 12. 

 T have wintered nine hives last wiuter in the 

 ground, from October 21, till March 16. I did 

 not find ten dead bees per hive. They con- 

 sumed very little honey, and were all in good 

 condition, without dysentery. 



C. Dadant. 



Appanoose, (III.,) August 1. 

 I have been disappointed repeatedly from 

 bees destroying queen cells, or deserting them 

 or eggs in small boxes, even when they had 

 been kept in the cellar two days. Will some 

 person please inform the readers of the Bee 

 JouKNAL how to overcome this difficulty. 



S. C. Wilson. 



Lebanon, (III.,) A.ugust 1. 

 I trust you will receive sufficient encourage- 

 ment to induce you to continue the publication 

 of the Bee Journal. I have been greatly 

 profited by it. F. O. Blaie. 



Bloomfield, (Ontario,) 7 mo., 29th. 

 In answer to "Apis," page 12, Volume 3, 

 plane the top and sides of the top bar of frame ; 

 use guide combs ; and restrict the space between 

 the frames and honey board to five-sixteenths 

 of an inch. This will generally ensure straight 

 combs, and clear spaces above frames. The 

 comb used for guides should be worker brood 

 comb of the previous year's construction, which 

 will all be of one thickness, and will usually 

 prevent the "uneven thickness" of the cards of 

 comb, so often met with in hives using artificial 

 guides. G. H. Bowerman. 



Annawan, (III.,) August 16. 



Mr. Editor ; — It has been extremely dry 

 here for so long a time, that bees are doing com- 

 paratively nothing ; and unless we have rain 

 soon, I shall be obliged to feed my bees this 

 fall. It therefore interests me very much to be 

 prepared for winter. 



Would the following plan be a good one for 

 wintering bees? 



A. Make a box or frame two feet high and 

 twelve feet square. Set it on the ground ; then 

 dig out a hole eleven feet by eleven, and three 

 feet deep, throwing the dirt around the box or 



frame, to run off surface water. Then stand 

 a post at each end, lay on a pole for a ridge, and 

 poles for rafters, letting these latter rest "on the 

 box. Now cover the whole with prairie hay 

 to the thickness of one foot. 



B. If this arrangement would answer how 

 many hives could be placed with safety in such 

 a cellar ? W. T. 



Will some of our correspondents, who 

 have experience in wintering bees in cellars or 

 clamps, reply to these inquiries ? 



[For the Bee Journal.] 



I wish to ask the bee-men and women, 

 through our Journal, two questions: 



Fir-st. — Will there generally be a noticeable 

 difference in the markings of workers — from 

 mothers, one of which is a pure Italian queen 

 but mated with a common drone, the other a 

 common queen mated with an Italian drone ? 

 My observations leads me to think that those 

 from the common queen will have the poorer 

 markings. 



It is well known that Langstroth, in his 

 Circular for 1866, claims as the first or primary 

 excellence of Italian bees " that they gather 

 freely from the second or seed crop of red 

 clover." I had for one season bees from a 

 queen procured from Mr. Langstroth, not one of 

 which was ever seen on red clover. Hence, 



Second. — Has any one not raising queens for 

 sale, ever had bees to tcork freely on red clover ? 



I wish also to notice an erroneous impression 

 made by an article in the July number of the 

 Journal. In Mr. Bennet's article on Allen's 

 patent hive, in speaking of its movable out- 

 side, he says — 



"On all other hives, this is a permanent 

 part of the hive, except indeed the top or cover." 



Now the American bee-hive has one movable 

 side capable of easy removal, which I think 

 bee- keepers will find as good as, and much less 

 expense than four. 



He says further, in speaking of the frames, 

 that " the frames are securely fixed at proper 

 equal distances from each other." So they are . 

 in the hive mentioned above, and no iron about 

 them. Mr. Allen's is probably a good hive, but 

 " Honor to whom honor." 



J. L. McCuNB, 



Ipava, III. Aug. 1867. 



11^° Movable sides or ends are no new feature 

 in hives. The Dzierzon, the Berlepsch, and the 

 Qj^ttel hives are thus constructed ; and until 

 recently this was the case with all German and 

 French movable comb hives, and the combs or 

 frames could only be moved horizontally. Of 

 late, side opening hives are regarded with less 

 favor, and those having a vertical movement of 

 the combs or frames are being introduced there. 



Adjusting the framesrirmly at equal distances 

 from each other is a decidedly objectionable 

 plan, and certainly a retrograde movement in 

 bee-culture. It was used, fully tested, and 

 abandoned years ago. [Ed. 



